Cheng'enbo Zhu Ci sent a visiting card to Gu Jiu.
He was a little nervous, not knowing whether Gu Jiu was willing to see him.
If he is unwilling, it means that Gu Jiu refuses the Zhu family's investment in the cement road.
The cement road is the goose that lays golden eggs!
The cement road from Beijing to Luozhou pays dividends every year.
Although the profit is not much, it is a long-term and stable livelihood, which is better than any other business.
As long as he is alive, the Zhu family will not go bankrupt and their business will continue as usual.
No one can predict what will happen to the Zhu family after he dies.
However, as long as he held onto a stake in the cement road, his descendants would never have to worry about food. He could also build connections, perhaps even making a comeback.
The waiting is very hard.
He sent his butler to deliver the visiting card, but the butler did not come back for a long time.
Whether the thing succeeded or not, please at least come back and let me know.
We waited from morning until afternoon before the housekeeper finally came back.
"How's the situation? Did Madam Zhao accept the invitation?"
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci knew that he should act more calmly, but as soon as he spoke, he still revealed his inner nervousness.
The housekeeper nodded, "Madam Zhao accepted the invitation and met with me to inquire about Master Bo's recent situation."
"how do you say?"
"I will tell Madam Zhao that Master Bo is in good health and can eat a bowl of rice at every meal."
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci felt relieved.
The housekeeper continued, "However, Madam Zhao has changed the time and place. We will meet tomorrow afternoon at the public housing complex in Xinmin County Market. Please be punctual for the appointment, my Lord."
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci was surprised, "Why did you change the time and place?"
"Madam Zhao said she's been busy lately. She's only free tomorrow afternoon."
"I understand. Tomorrow you will accompany me to see Madam Zhao."
"As you command!"
…
Xiaozhu, Gu Jiu threw Cheng Enbo's visiting card aside and asked Aqing, "How many visiting cards have you received in the past few days?"
"There are at least thirty or forty of them. These people are all here for the cement road. The cement road only makes a few hundred thousand taels of silver a year at most from tolls, which only gives each person a few thousand taels of silver. Why are these people flocking here? Do they even care about this little money?"
Aqing doesn't understand why these noble and wealthy people attach so much importance to cement roads.
I've never seen them so active when raising funds to build a house.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "The annual dividends from cement roads aren't much, with some getting tens of thousands of taels, and others only a few thousand. But the advantage is stability, with visible income for decades to come. It's more reliable than farms or shops. Some people value this kind of visible stability, so it's no surprise that so many people are flocking to it."
"Madam, do you want to accept their investment? Sihai can build the cement road on its own. There is no need to cooperate with these people."
Gu Jiu shook her head. "That's not the case. This lady has never liked to eat alone. If there is money, everyone can make money together. If there is something wrong, there will be someone to help run errands and find connections."
Ah Qing asked, "Madam, do you mean to accept investment from these people?"
Gu Jiu smiled and did not answer directly.
…
In the afternoon, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci arrived at the public housing in Xinmin County Market on time.
He thought he was the only one with sharp eyesight who could see the benefits of cement roads and was eager to invest money in road construction.
But when I got to the public housing, I saw that they were all familiar faces.
We all know without any discussion that everyone comes here for the two cement roads.
This, this, this...
Cheng'enbo Zhu Ci was a little dumbfounded.
The key point is that the Marquis' Mansion is in mourning, so why would he come to join in the fun?
Gu Rui, the eldest grandson of the Marquis's family, appeared in the public housing, attracting everyone's attention.
The mourning period hasn't started yet, so it's not appropriate to come to this occasion.
Gu Rui had a blank expression on his face and didn't talk to anyone. He exuded a cold and gloomy aura that kept strangers away.
All those who tried to inquire about the news were dismissed by him with a cold face.
Butler Zhu secretly asked Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci, "Old Master, what should we do in this situation?"
"Wait and see!"
Cheng'enbo Zhu Ci was very upset.
We are not fools.
Everyone wants to get a piece of the pie when there are visible benefits.
If the cement road was built entirely by the imperial court, no one would bother to do it.
The government is lucky not to lose money when running toll booths. Expecting to make money, to recover the principal and make a profit, is just dreaming.
Only if Sihai presided over the construction of the cement road could everyone participate so actively.
Sihai is indeed domineering at times, but it is undeniable that he is very good at doing business.
When you invest your money in Sihai, you don’t have to worry about losing money. The only difference is how much you earn.
Everyone looked at the hourglass, feeling a little anxious, wondering why Madam Zhao hadn't arrived yet.
"Isn't he not coming?"
"Don't worry, Madam Zhao's credibility has never been in question."
"We came too early. It's not the time Madam Zhao agreed to."
"I didn't expect to see you all here today."
Everyone knows it, but they also dislike each other.
Normally, you don't see people so active.
When there is an opportunity to make money, everyone runs faster than anyone else.
"I wonder if Madam Zhao will agree to our request."
This is a question that everyone is worried about.
This time, two cement roads were built at the same time. There was no prior fundraising and no public announcement. Sihai started the construction on his own.
So panicked!
Is Sihai planning to have the whole thing to himself?
Everyone was uneasy.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci sat down next to Gu Rui and said, "My condolences!"
Gu Rui hummed first, then said, "You're welcome, uncle."
"In my early years, the old marquis and I served in the same court, and we had some friendship. I never expected that he would actually be ahead of me."
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci spoke with a sad tone, lamenting that birth, old age, sickness and death are something no one can escape.
Gu Rui was slightly moved.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci changed the subject and said, "For today's occasion, the Crown Prince could send a trusted subordinate."
Gu Rui shook his head and said nothing more.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci secretly tried to figure out what Gu Rui meant.
If the Marquisate wants to invest in Sihai's business, it's just a matter of a word. Why does the Crown Prince need to show up in person?
At this moment, Gu Jiu arrived at the public housing in the market by carriage.
The entire first floor lobby was almost full.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Everyone is here. Please forgive me for the simple environment here."
"You're welcome, ma'am!"
Gu Jiu smiled faintly and sat down in the main seat as a matter of course.
Everyone found a seat and sat down.
As the maids came and went, they poured tea and served snacks to the guests.
Gu Jiu knocked on the table, and the hall instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at Gu Jiu, who was sitting in the main seat, waiting for the next words.
"I understand your intentions. The cement roads from Beijing to the northwest and Beijing to Hexi are being built simultaneously, and the costs are substantial. Sihai is responsible for the construction, and the deadline is very tight, so the pressure is immense. I would like to thank you all for your generosity in helping Sihai."
"You are so kind, ma'am!"
"We trust the lady."
"Ma'am, just tell me how to calculate the shares. As long as we don't lose money, everything can be negotiated."
Everyone was talking at once, clamoring for it to go faster, fearing that if they paid too slowly, they would get fewer shares than others.
Gu Jiu knocked on the table and the hall became quiet again.
"Everyone wants to invest in cement roads, and I welcome that. But the way to invest needs to be changed."
Huh?
Are you going to try something new?
Gu Jiu gestured to Bai Zhong.
Bai Zhong waved his hand, and the waiter brought out a basket containing color-printed receipts.
bill?
Everyone was surprised.
What is the purpose of taking out the bills?
Gu Jiu picked up the color-printed bill. It was finely crafted, especially the color-printed part, which was absolutely anti-counterfeiting.
In this era, no one has the technology to imitate similar bills.
This is the benefit of monopolizing printing technology.
Nowadays, even the Shaofu Money House has to cooperate with the printing workshop under the Wenqing Bookstore to produce new anti-counterfeiting bills.
Gu Jiu said, "These aren't banknotes, they're bonds. These are the first batch of bonds issued by our Sihai Trading Company, and we're backed by the Shaofu Bank. Each bond is worth 10,000 taels, with an annual interest rate of 10%. The loan period is two years. After two years, Sihai Trading Company will redeem these bonds, along with the principal and interest. My terms are: if you want to invest in two cement roads, you can. Buy 50,000 taels of Sihai bonds and you can invest in one cement road. Buy 100,000 taels of Sihai bonds and you can invest in two cement roads."
boom!
The crowd exploded!
Buzz buzz buzz...
In the hall, people were talking about it.
First, I didn’t understand what bonds were.
Once you understand that a bond is like an IOU, you can transfer it to anyone in your family, including your wife and children. With the bond, you can withdraw the principal and interest from the Sihai Bank when it matures.
Afterwards, everyone had new questions.
“Why did Sihai issue bonds?”
"Is Sihai borrowing money from everyone?"
"Is Sihai out of money?"
"Is Sihai going bankrupt?"
"Si Hai is asking everyone to borrow money. Is he planning a big project? Is he going to build a house somewhere again?"
"Does Sihai have money or not?"
Too many questions.
The hall was almost in chaos.
Gu Jiu had no choice but to take out the gavel and bang the table hard.
Bang, bang, bang...
After a few loud noises, the hall finally quieted down.
Gu Jiu said loudly, "Everyone here is well-informed. You should already know that the imperial court holds a 20% stake in each of the two cement roads under construction. I will also offer an additional 40% for everyone to subscribe to. Pre-orders should hurry up, first come first served.
In addition, let me say one more thing. Forty percent of the shares are divided into one thousand shares. Each share is worth one thousand taels. Okay, I have to go to the next hall. The wealthy merchants from other places who came to Beijing are waiting for me in the next hall.
boom!
When these wealthy families in Beijing heard that wealthy merchants from other places were right next door, they immediately became anxious.
"Madam, wait a minute, why is this wealthy foreign merchant here?"
"Could it be that they also want to get a piece of the pie and buy shares in Cement Road?"
"No, no. This is the interest of the people of the capital. How can we give it to wealthy merchants from other places?"
"Madam Zhao, please think twice. Foreign merchants are all cunning and treacherous. We, the locals of the capital, know their intricacies better than them."
"Yes, yes. Madam, you must not let wealthy merchants from other places get involved in cement road shares."
"It's just bonds, I'll buy 100,000 taels."
"I'll buy fifty thousand taels."
People are more enthusiastic about buying bonds than ever before.
Gu Jiu knocked on the table with a small gavel. When everyone quieted down, she said, "To be honest, wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, Southwest, and other places have come to Beijing in a group to seek an audience with me. I promised to give them a chance. Farewell!"
After saying that, Gu Jiu did not stop, walked through the small door and went to another hall.
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